


Game of Gods

by Zigaara



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fantasy, Fighting, M/M, More tags to be added, Rogue-like - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:48:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22023622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zigaara/pseuds/Zigaara
Summary: As the world slides towards the tipping point between life and death the gods of light and darkness, tire of their stalemate over the fate of the world, decide on a game. Giant towers filled with monsters and magic appear around the world. As Galra, lord of darkness fills the tower with monsters, Altea, goddess of the light, chooses her champions and breathes life into the towers. Powers depleted the two slumber, the fate of the world to be decided once they awaken. Will the humans adapt and survive or will monsters rule the towers.-Basically Voltron meets rogue-like rpg fantasy nonsense. Enjoy.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Game of Gods

**Author's Note:**

> Second attempt at writing anything, unbeta'd cause I don't know anyone in the fandom. Posting before I wimp out.  
> Be gentle.

Keith could feel the eyes on him, following his every move as he made his way through the market. The feeling of so many gazes focused on him put him on edge. He didn’t fear a fight. He was in Junabelle, the capitol of the ground floor of the North American tower after all. Despite the uproar caused by the massive towers appearing seemingly overnight all around the world, it hadn’t taken long for people to travel inside. Of those who entered a few were able to activate the runes that teleported them to the equipment room and, once equipped, into the ground floor. The first to enter had been more than a bit surprised to find lush forests, crystal clear lakes and rolling hills, a veritable paradise compared to how earth looked now a days. It was hard to find truly fertile soil let alone such healthy plants, clear skies and clean water. The biggest surprise had been how electronics had shut off and monsters had appeared. People were lost in the first pushes to clear out the first floor but after a few weeks of fighting all the higher-level leading monsters, the floor bosses, were killed and monsters stopped appearing in the land. 

That was when the winged people appeared. They called themselves Alteans, human-like but with long elven ears and wings of all colors and patterns and markings of different colors under their eyes and along their bodies. They weren’t hostile though the first interactions were tense while people figured this out but after a while the city was full of them. Shops opened, homes filled and the city came to life. They’d been informed by the Alteans then that no more monsters would appear on this floor, that combat was impossible on this floor now and that the way up to the next floor was now open. It was the first time the word Hero had been used to describe those who were for some reason able to enter first and get weapons and armor from the rooms to fight. With that anyone could enter though the equipment room and the ‘elevator’ as it was being called, still only worked for Heros. 

With this in mind Keith had no reason to fear any sort of attack. The rule of no combat had been tested plenty of times. Any movement with violent intent towards another was stopped dead by some kind of invisible barrier nothing could break past. It had blocked even accidental harm to another in a few cases. This knowledge didn’t serve to comfort Keith much, nor did the fact that he was very aware of why they were staring. 

“Isn’t that one of those monsters?” 

“No, can’t be. The Alteans said they can’t come here remember?” 

“He looks just like those beasts, why is he here?” 

Keith could hear similar conversations being whispered all around him. His only response was to grit his teeth and walk faster, hands clenched into fists at his side until his claws dug into his palm enough to draw blood. Maybe one day he’d get used to the staring, the voices and whispering but for now it was too new. At least they weren’t calling guards. Non-combatants had never seen a monster since they couldn’t come in until the floor was clear, they were just going off descriptions they’d heard. Heroes, the ones who had actually faught some of the monsters, had called for backup and tried to attack him twice so far. 

Keith glared at the ground at the memory and growled in irritation, the only result being gasps and more space being given around him which only made his frustration grow. ‘Patience yields focus’ he chants in his head as he heads towards the Juniberry Inn. Not much further now. 

He opens the door to the inn a bit faster than he meant to and winces when conversation in the main room stops and people stare. He does his best to ignore them and heads to the stairs, pretending he doesn’t hear the innkeeper call to him or the heroes beginning to talk about him, focusing on getting to his room. 

The key is out of his pocket as fast as he can manage and slotted into the keyhole and turned. Once the door is shut and locked behind him, he lets out a long breath as he leans against the door only to hear a weak chuckle. He straightens up quickly and feels some of the anger and frustration drain out of him at the sound. 

It had been almost two years since the towers had appeared on earth. Keith had no idea how the other towers were doing but their own had cleared the second city of New Arusia, home to the Arusian people. Their floor varied greatly to match its people, the elemental sprites. They were humanoid but small, about half the size of an adult human covered in short fur of earthy colors but with large furred ears and tails with fur of different colors to represent their element. Their capitol was split into four districts, one for each element, showcasing different architectural styles and their varied cultures. Their city sat on the 10th floor and had been cleared around the six-month mark. The city of Balmaris, home to the Balmarens, a species of humanoid form but seemed to be made out of earth and stone held together with magic, was currently still being cleared. They were a surprisingly gentle people whose land was deep underground, the city sitting in a huge underground cavern in the middle of a maze of tunnels on the twentieth floor. From what Keith had heard, there had been some contact with the people but the tunnels made it difficult to track down all the enemies and some were very difficult. 

It had been a while since Keith had been on the front lines. Once he’d been one of the Garrison Guild’s premier teams. That had been before He’d gotten news of Shiro’s disappearance during a scouting mission on floor 18 called the fields of kerberos. At the time, a little over a year ago, it had been on the front lines and Shiro was a legend, one of the best shield wielders out there, definitely the best in the Garrison Guild. Then he was gone and none of the higher up members would tell Keith anything. They went so far as to blame Shiro for the mission failure and label Shiro, Matt and the other members of the five-man party as dead. Keith had punched Iverson and left the guild and went out in search of Shiro. There was no way he was truly gone. He was a hero, heroes never stayed dead in the tower, they just respawned after death in the cathedral in Junibelle, stats and gifts gone from the previous climb. With that in mind, Shiro had to be somewhere and Keith wouldn’t stop until he found him. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

When Keith did finally find him, it was completely unexpected. In the far corners of the twentieth floor he’d heard voices raised, growls and multiple sets of footsteps. At the sound he’d hurried down the tunnel, assuming a team was fighting a monster and might need some help. Instead what he’d found was a group of Galra surrounding a human. 

Even though Keith couldn’t see who the human was through all the Galra bodies he charged forward just the same, sword gripped tightly as he rushed the nearest Galra, a war cry leaving his lips. The problem wasn’t that the enemy was strong, it was that there were so many, many more than he’d usually see gathered in one place. Keith had been fairly confident he could wear them down, until another group appeared, likely having run here at the sound of fighting. 

Every time he cut one down another appeared, attacking from the side or coming at him from the back. He was more agile, dodging blows and maneuvering to keep from getting surrounded but it was a losing battle without reinforcements and he couldn’t expect any. He’d been running solo since he left the guild and the guy he’d jumped in to save looked to barely be able to stand and was somehow without a weapon. 

It wasn’t until Keith was knocked to the ground, his health bar slowly depleting in the corner of his vision, that he finally got a good view of who he’d just been trying to help. 

Shiro was bleeding from multiple gashes, wearing simple ratty purple clothes and a heavy-duty collar. A scar now carved its way across his nose and cheeks but the biggest change was his missing right arm. 

Keith's heart stuttered at the sight. The rebirth process was like a sort of reset, putting someone back in the state they’d been in when they first started the climb, like reloading a save file. The problem was that there seemed to be a limit to how far back it could go. A week was the consensus. If he’d lost his arm more than a week ago there was no way to get it back. Shiro had been missing for almost a year and it didn’t look fresh. 

Laying on the ground, enemies surrounding him, he expected the bite of a sword to come. Pain wasn’t one to one here, maybe fifty percent what pain in the real world would have been, but that didn’t mean getting repeatedly stabbed wasn’t going to suck, badly. 

The blow never came. Instead one of the casters stopped his bleeding at a sliver of health and began to haul him up. They’d never done this before, in all the floors before this he’d never heard of this happening. He thought this before berating himself. Of course, he wouldn’t have heard of it, those it happened to were never seen again. He couldn’t let this happen. Not when he’d finally found Shiro. 

“Shiro!” He calls out as loud as he can manage, eyes focused on the man as he’s hauled to his feet, his arms held behind him. His whole body felt weak and shaky. It was a struggle to even focus, his body felt so heavy. But he wouldn’t let it stop him. It didn’t matter what happened to him, he could take it, anything if it meant Shiro could get free. He’d do anything. 

It was then the world seemed to freeze around him. For a moment he was stunned, not understanding what was happening. He remained frozen as a Galra unlike any he’d ever seen before. 

Galra in general seemed to be some kind of dragonkin. They could vary greatly from individual to individual, giant heavily scaled and wingless to lithe winged spell casters in all kinds of shades and patterns between white, black and purple. 

This one though, this one was less scaled and more...feathered... There were the same draconic horns, same draconic tale, same gold eyes, pointed ears, claws, digitigrade legs and fangs. But instead of large leathery wings this one’s wings were feathered, similar to the Alteans but much darker in color and bits of feather growing from their hair. The most striking difference though was the feeling. Where Galra were perpetually snarling, looking for a challenge, this one seemed calm, considering as he looked at Keith. 

As Keith opened his mouth to speak, the spoke, cutting him off. “There is much fire in you, young one. A fire that drives you on far past where others would turn back and quit. You revel in power but its tempered by the need to protect those you care for. You’re still far too rash where you should use your head but I see much potential in you. You have taken my gifts more than any other. I have been watching you, Keith Kogane, and thus far I have liked what I have seen. For that reason, I will give you this chance.” 

A notification flashed before his eyes which slowly widened as he read. He’d only ever heard about this. The mark of favor of one of the nine god and goddesses that watched over the game. They were the ones who gave the gifts that allowed them to use skills and spells while they climbed the tower. He’d heard of people gaining titles after choosing the receive gifts from the same god or goddess over and over, titles that increased the quality of the gifts received by that god, but he’d only heard of two people so far who have received the mark of a god or goddess. The mark fundamentally changed the person. They became half whatever species the god was, changing their stats and their bodies. It was the only physical change that wasn’t reverted in a normal rebirth. Even if one were to die directly after receiving the mark it became an irremovable part of them. 

The notification was so simple for something so all changing. ‘Would you like to receive the Mark of Marmora’ ‘Yes’ ‘No’. 

For a moment Keith wondered why he would ever say yes to this. Sure, becoming half another race generally modified stats for the better and he’d heard people say they found new race specific items and upgrades afterwards and got better gifts from the god or goddess that marked him but Marmora was different. They looked extremely similar to the Galra, the main enemy of the tower. No doubt the change would do little but make Keith’s life many times more difficult. But as he looked at Marmora, because who else could this be, he remembered something else he’d heard. That accepting the mark acted almost like a rebirth. All but the normal base human stats were cleared and health and mana and stamina were all raised to full though but the person changed didn’t get sent back to the Alter. 

With that in mind he knew what he had to do. Keith looked at Shiro, seeing the man, his closest and only true friend, looking up at him with fear in his eyes, his mouth open to yell as he was being hauled away. He selected Yes. 

The change had been quick. One moment the world surged forward around him and pain engulfed his body. The next his sword was in hand and he was cutting a path to Shiro. 

When the battle was done, Keith had slung a barely conscious Shiro’s arm around his shoulder and began trudging back towards town. He did his best not to think about how bright the once dark tunnels suddenly seemed, or the weight on his back or the sound of dragging that followed him. All that mattered was Shiro. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

That had been almost two months ago now. Keith had, predictably, caused an uproar when he’d appeared in the elevator on the ground floor, bloody and looking a hell of a lot like a Galra dragging around a bloody unconscious human. It had taken far too long to explain the situation and get Shiro some medical help. Ever since then Keith and Shiro had been staying at one of the more popular Inns in the capitol. Garrison had more than a few questions for them, mostly Shiro, which Keith hadn’t been thrilled about. Shiro was still recovering and trying to adjust to only having one arm. Keith went out every few days to look for signs of where the Galra might be keeping other prisoners but had yet to find anything. He wasn’t with any of the guilds so he didn’t really have connections to use. He just joined whatever group was looking for a fifth and went off by himself as soon as they hit the higher floors. It earned him a bad reputation which didn’t help the distrust his appearance already got him but he’d never been one to let what others think get in the way of what he needed to do. 

Today hadn’t been one of those days. Mostly he’d been relaxing with Shiro, chatting about recent news and the goings on in the town. Shiro was still extremely self-conscious about his scars and missing arm and so preferred to stay inside. When he did go out, he tended to get mobbed which made matters worse. They’d been talking about moving up to the newly cleared 20th floor for the last week. Even though the city floors could no longer spawn monsters when cleared, people still tended to think that it was more dangerous still since it was higher up in the tower. That and the fact that it was underground and newly opened meant there would be far fewer people around to bother them. It was just a matter of finding a place. 

So far, the best bet seemed to be an inn. Keith was looking for one on the edge of the city so they wouldn’t have to walk through populated areas to get anywhere. Shiro had been expressing interest in starting to train again and while Keith was more hesitant, worried about Shiro getting hurt, he also knew Shiro wouldn’t appreciate Keith trying to shelter him. Shiro had always been independent and what had happened seemed to only strengthen that. Keith hated seeing him struggle, trying to fight back frustration at being unable to do simple things he’d been able to do before with both arms, but he knew this was what Shiro needed. He needed to figure out how to move forward, not have Keith baby him every step of the way. 

Glancing around the room, Keith spots Shiro laying on his bed, a book held open and laying on his chest where he must have put it when Keith walked in. 

“Rough day?” Shiro asks, watching him. 

Keith gives another sigh. “The usual, staring, whispering.” 

"Do you wanna talk about it?” Shiro asks tentatively. 

Both of them are well aware it’s a touchy subject, just as both of them know what the answer is going to be. 

“Thanks, Shiro, but I'm alright. I’m used to it by now” 

Keith puts on a false smile and hopes Shiro will drop it. He watches Shiro seem to search his face and after a moment the other gives a small smile as well. 

“Alright. You know, I'm always here if you need to talk.” 

At Keith’s nod, they both relax. Keith sits on the edge of his bed and Shiro sits up on his. They both settle into their new normal routine, little do they know things are about to change.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments appreciated ^^


End file.
